Survival
by WildVegeta
Summary: Robin never managed to escape Slade. Instead, the villain enrolls him in HIVE Academy, forcing him to live with people he despises, and who despise him just as much. It's all about survival now, and Robin won't go down with our a fight. Or several, for that matter. Rated T for violence and abuse.
1. Survival

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Teen Titans, and sadly, I don't own Robin either.

The story is set after Apprentice pt. 1 and 2, but sometimes I don't remember too much where certain episodes happened in the timeline of the show, so I'm sorry if sometimes I skip ahead a little bit.

I'll make up some villains for the sake of the story, but this is mostly about Robin, Slade and the Titans.

There will be a little RobStar later on!

 **Warnings:** Violence, abuse.

* * *

Robin stared blankly at the mask in his hands. It resembled his own so much, except for the sharp edges jutting upwards slightly. He briefly wondered where his original mask was, frowning a little as he recalled Slade saying that he'd burn his old uniform up. He put the villain's mask on and sighed deeply. He hadn't been worried then. He had millions of masks back at the Tower. He had figured that he'd just get a new one once he got out of Slade's scheme.

That had been three months prior.

He had been so confident that his friends would figure everything out and help him fight Slade. Or if not that, then he had been positive that he would eventually beat Slade in his own game and be free to go back to his friends... But nothing had gone according to plan. He had lost. His friends still thought he had simply gone to the dark side (which, to be honest, wasn't such a farfetched thought after the whole Red X situation), and he always lost when he tried to attack Slade or escape his clutches... and losing to Slade meant huge amounts of pain and humiliation. He had learned to stay away from the man when he got angry, and, sadly, Robin had become keenly aware of when the man was infuriated.

He looked around his room. He only had a bed, a lightbulb and a chest where he kept his uniforms. It was small and cramped, but way better than the dark cell Slade had kept him in during his first month as his official Apprentice. But that had been the only upgrade to his situation. Training with Slade bordered on abuse, and punishments from Slade _were_ abuse and torture. The man enjoyed beating him for hours when he misbehaved, and would often starve him or deprive him of water, all the while still training him harshly. More often than not he passed out from sheer exhaustion. He was still forced to steal and cause trouble around Jump City, and while he had learned to keep away from the Titans, his morals and principles still took a harsh blow.

And now, things had gone completely awry.

Slade had decided to enrol him in a school, where others could help teach him how to be a villain.

Hive Academy for Young Villains, to be precise.

He growled and tightened his fists.

 _"Robin!"_ Slade's voice came in through his earpiece, making him jump and wince as the loud noise hurt his eardrum.

"I'm coming." he grumbled. Static exploded in his ear, a high-pitched screech making him feel like a knife was digging into his skull and twisting. He cried out and put a hand on it, closing his eyes shut. He growled when it quieted down. "Master." he added in a low voice, full of hatred. It had been three months and the word still burnt his mouth, hurting his pride so badly that he wanted to rip his own tongue out.

He got up and exited the room, crossing the dark, metal halls hastily. He didn't want to admit it, but he was terrified of making Slade wait. The man wasn't patient... and he wasn't looking forward to a beating. His ribs still hurt from the last one.

He finally reached the Computer Room, where Slade spent most of his time.

The man was, as usual, standing before a giant screen, surveying some blueprints, his arms crossed and his stance relaxed, but Robin knew better than to underestimate the man's awareness. He was _always_ alert, no matter how relaxed his body seemed to be.

"Robin." he said softly, in that voice that crawled under the boy's skin and made his eye twitch. "What took you so long?"

"You told me I had to look impeccable for this _situation_." Robin growled, his fists tight and his body tense.

Slade made a small mocking sound and his head turned slightly to the side.

"Well, then, let's get going."

* * *

Robin sat in front of the secretary's office. She was extremely thin and wrinkled, sickly so, with huge round glasses on her face. Her nose was crooked exaggeratedly. Truthfully, she looked really scary.

She was typing his information on her computer while Robin waited impatiently. Slade had left, saying that he had things to do and telling him to behave. In reality, Robin wanted to run away. He was extremely anxious and a bit scared. He was one of the most famous heroes, he wouldn't be able to go through high school unnoticed... and a school full of dangerous young villains who were still struggling to get their dangerous powers and abilities under control was very unnerving.

"Alright." the woman said in her scratchy voice, pulling him out of his thoughts. She took a few pieces of paper from a table next to her. "The day starts tomorrow at 7 a.m. sharp. Don't be late. Here's your schedule, your room number and a map of the school. And here are the rules." she gave him the stack of papers and he sighed, defeated. This was truly happening. She looked - glared - at him. "I know you're a goody two shoes, but don't you dare cause trouble. You're not a hero anymore."

Robin glared at her and got up, turning on his heel and walking towards the door.

"We'll see about that." he said.

 _"This deal can't last forever."_

 _"It can. And it will."_

The flashback crossed his mind suddenly and he growled, swallowing uneasily. Escaping Slade was difficult enough... Now he had to escape a whole school.

He was startled when he saw Slade once he opened the door to the outside. The man was leaning against the wall, one of his legs folded so that his foot was pressed against it as well, and his arms crossed. His single eye stared at Robin, making him nervous. The boy closed the door behind himself and stared back, not wanting to break eye contact.

"Come on." the man said. "I'll show you the cafeteria."

Robin sighed through his nose and followed the man through various halls. They didn't bump into anyone, since they were all at the cafeteria. Robin gulped. He didn't care if people disliked him, he wasn't there to make friends, but facing a huge room full of people whose parents or mentors he had beaten, put in jail or nearly killed wasn't the most exciting idea. Especially if those people could use magic, powers, energy, high technology and other weapons that could cause some serious damage.

"It will please you to know," the man's voice said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "that I will be here at school as well."

Robin's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why?"

"I want to keep a close eye on you. Make sure those vengeful teenagers don't kill you. Besides, I own this school. It's high time I spent some time here to see what they're teaching and how the students are going." he said.

"What? I thought Brother Blood was the headmaster." Robin said, remembering the files they had back at the Tower on the HIVE Academy.

"He is." Slade said. "I hired some of his best students to beat your little team some time ago. They failed, obviously, but it awakened some interest in me. I figured that once I had you under my wing, you'd need a place to socialise with other young villains. So I bought the school."

"I'm not here to socialise." Robin growled, clenching his fists.

"I know." Slade said, an evilness to his voice that made Robin a bit nervous. They finally reached giant, double doors. They were shiny black with some engravements on them. Robin could hear loud, incessant chattering of dozens of teens cramped inside the place. It was extremely loud. "You're here to survive."

He pushed the double doors open, and slowly, the voices quieted down. All of the young, malicious faces turned to them.

Everyone knew Slade. Everyone knew _not_ to mess with Slade, so they were silent to show the man respect.

He clasped his hands behind his back and walked inside. Robin slowly trudged behind him, lifting his chin, clenching his fists and glaring at everyone. Some faces were mocking, others were enraged, others were truly shocked, and others shone with pure evil. He glared at each and everyone of them, not showing an ounce of fear. He noticed that some of them cowered or averted their eyes when Slade walked through, and he hoped that he could use that to his advantage at some point.

They crossed the whole cafeteria, and Slade climbed the small stairs that gave way to a platform up front. On top of the platform was a long table where a bunch of older villains sat, and Robin figured that they were the teachers. He recognised some of them from Batman's and the Titan's files, and reckoned that most of them were highly dangerous. At least he hadn't fought any of them... yet.

Slade stopped at the centre of the platform, looking over all of them, making them tense and stare at him expectantly. He crossed his hands behind his back.

"HIVE Academy," he started, his voice loud. "Let me introduce you to the school's new student: Robin. My apprentice."

Whispers broke through, along with a few gasps and snickers. Robin felt his face growing hot, but he still stood proudly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"He won't stand a chance."

"He'll die before gym period."

"Mammoth will crush him while he sleeps."

"What the hell is he thinking?"

"I think Slade just wants him dead but doesn't want to get his hands dirty."

Slade cleared his throat, his eye squinting menacingly. Everyone quieted down immediately.

"He is under _my_ protection." he said, his voice low and threatening. Nobody said anything. He didn't say anything else as he turned on his heel and descended from the platform. Robin followed him, feeling like a lost puppy. He didn't want to be left alone in the cafeteria, though.

As soon as they exited and the doors closed behind them, Slade looked down at him, his eye narrowed, making Robin nervous.

"Go find your room and go to bed. You'll have a harsh day tomorrow. As soon as your classes are over, we'll train. Everyday. No rest. We will meet at the gym at 4:30 p.m. sharp. Get it?" he said.

Robin nodded. Slade, however, wasn't pleased with his answer. He grabbed the boy's shoulder and whirled him around, slamming him against the wall. The breath got knocked out of his lungs and the back of his head crashed against it with a loud thump. Robin grunted, stifling any other sound of pain. Sade's hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him a good height off of the ground, choking him. He kicked his legs, his hands grabbing at the man's larger one as he fought for breath. He opened one of his clenched eyes and saw Slade's one narrowed into a slit, meaning he was getting _very_ upset. As if to prove his point, Slade's metal fist connected with his stomach, forcing the remaining oxygen out of Robin's body.

Part of Robin wanted to pass out from lack of oxygen before giving in, but the much more rational part of him knew that Slade wouldn't allow that. If he passed out it would be from waves of agony and exhaustion.

"Yes...master." he choked out, wheezing.

The man released him and Robin fell on his knees, coughing a bit. He immediately got up, but Slade was already walking away, disappearing as the hall gave a sharp turn.

Robin growled and ignored the dull ache on his throat and stomach as he stared down at the papers that he still had crumpled in his hand.

He found his room fairly quickly, thankfully, since everyone was still at the cafeteria and he didn't bump into others.

The room was small, but he was surprised, and very relieved, to see that he didn't have to share it with anyone. There was a bed against the corner, neatly made with black and yellow sheets and covers, and a black backpack on top of it. There was a small nightstand with a lamp and a clock on it, and a closet to the right. The doors were partially open, and he could see that the closet was already stacked with various orange and black uniforms, along with boots, gloves, and the metal armour on top. He walked over to the nightstand and opened the first drawer. It had a bunch of books, notebooks and school supplies, making him feel odd and out of place. The second drawer made more sense: it was filled with weapons and masks.

He surveyed the weapons. They were extremely similar to the ones he once owned, except they were black and orange and had Slade's trademark 'S' on them.

He closed the door shut with a kick and sat on his bed.

The Titans came to his head as he slowly removed the heavy, metallic parts of his suit. God, he missed them.

He often looked for them in Slade's computer, catching small glimpses of Raven meditating on the roof of the tower, or Beast Boy swimming in the sea, transforming into different animals, or Cyborg fixing some parts of the Tower... or Starfire flying around.

Starfire...

He closed his eyes and removed the spandex suit, feeling a knot forming in his throat.

He knew they missed him. He knew their group was falling out of shape; he had seen on the news how they failed a few times and had trouble working together... It pained him to see the Titans so lost without him.

But what hurt the most was that he knew they had lost faith in him. He knew they truly believed he had gone to the dark side. He knew that Starfire, the girl who had faith in everything, who always hoped for the best and who always saw the best in people... had lost her hope in him.

It hurt him deeper than he ever thought.

God, he missed Starfire.

When he was in nothing but his boxers and white undershirt, (and his mask, which he didn't feel safe taking off even when asleep) he pulled the covers from over the bed and laid down.

Thankfully, he was out as soon as his head touched the pillow.

* * *

Robin was awakened by a shrill noise. He sat up, alert for any danger, his fists at the ready, before he realised that it was the clock next to his bed. He slammed a fist into it and glared at the glowing, red numbers.

6 a.m.

He was used to waking up much earlier, but he figured that the day before had been emotionally exhausting, so he felt tired.

He got up, grabbed a new, clean suit from the drawer and made his way to the door, but hesitated. The bathroom was at the end of the hall, and he figured that all the boys would go bathe there... and he didn't know if he was ready to face all of them so suddenly. He could hear their voices outside.

He growled at his own weakness and wrenched the door open. Just like he had thought, they were all walking towards the bathroom. Fortunately, the hall only contained about ten or fifteen rooms, so at least the hoard of young villains wasn't too big. Among them, though, he could see Gizmo and Mammoth and he cursed, wondering if Slade had placed him in that hall on purpose. He slammed his door behind himself and glared at them as evil smiles spread across their faces.

"Well, well, well." Gizmo said, walking over to him. Robin rolled his eyes and turned on his heel, walking over to the bathroom, ignoring the other young boys looking at him mockingly or angrily. A few of them were simply ignoring him though, and he decided to do the same. He'd ignore all of them. Gizmo huffed at Robin's clear disregard for his presence and sped up his tiny legs, catching up with him until he could walk beside him. "I knew Slade wanted you gone but I didn't think he'd do it in such a gruesome way. Getting torn apart by the students at the HIVE? That's rich."

Robin looked down at the small boy, not stopping.

"I can beat each and every one of you without breaking a sweat."

Gizmo laughed loudly, some of the others snickering and giggling.

"Yeah, right. You won't even survive the week in this place. I don't care what Slade said about him protecting you. His little bird will have his wings broken. He can't be watching you all the time, and when you least expect it..."

Robin whirled around and stopped Mammoth's fist with his forearm before the man could even blink. They all looked startled for a moment, and Robin lowered his arm and entered the bathroom.

"I've beaten you before and I'll beat you again." he told them.

He walked into one of the showers, leaving them seething and astounded at the door.

* * *

Robin walked into the enormous cafeteria without hesitation. Hs small encounter in the hall had made him realise that he needed to be alert and show no signs or doubt or weakness.

Everyone immediately turned to stare at him. Some people were still walking in, but they still looked towards him as they took their seats. Even the teachers seemed to be glaring at him menacingly or amusedly. He clenched his fists and scanned the room for Slade.

He wasn't there.

And the teacher's weren't, either.

But he saw a few other familiar faces that he had missed the day before.

Jinx, Seemore, Angel, Kyd Wykkyd... he remembered a lot of them from the Titan's files, and some of them he had fought with his team. And beaten. He also knew some of them because they were sidekick's to a few of Batman's enemies.

Someone bumped into him from behind, snapping him out of his mental scanning. He glared at the back of Billy Numerous, who turned to stare at him with a stupid smile, his arms crossing.

"Birdboy." he said mockingly. "Ya' finally got tired of the Titans?"

"Piss off, Billy." he growled, trying to sidestep him, but he copied himself immediately, and one of his clones stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Geeze, Robin. Got up on the wrong foot, huh?"

"Maybe he just misses his friends." Jinx piped up from a table, feigning sadness. Everyone within earshot laughed. Robin clenched his fists.

"Can't blame 'im." one Billy said. "That red haired chick with the smokin' body must be hard to let go I tell ya'."

He laughed loudly at his own joke, before getting harshly interrupted by Robin's fist on his mouth. He cried out and stumbled backwards, holding his face as a small trickle of blood ran from his lips. Robin immediately crossed his forearms before his face as the other Billy drove a fist towards his face, and kicked the red-suited boy in the stomach. He flew backwards against a table and his clone was jerked backwards into his body. Robin stood straight, crossing his arms and glaring at Billy. The young villain immediately got up and copied himself various times, surrounding Robin. Ooh's and aah's filled the room.

"Take him down, Numerous!"

Robin got into a defensive position and immediately pulled the bo staff out. He smiled slightly. If he was going to be miserable, he might as well kick some ass while he was at it.

All of the Billies jumped at him at the same time, and Robin smirked. It was thrilling. He whirled around, sending kicks, fists and his staff in all directions, hitting faces, bellies and extremities. He dodged and blocked kicks and fists faster than the eye could see, and even had time to laugh in Billy's faces. Soon, the Billie's jests and warcrimes became cries of pain and frustration. It was over in less than ten minutes. All of Billie's copies were groaning on the ground while Robin stood proud, his staff in his hand and his face triumphant.

Billy's copies slowly went back to him, and the original remained sprawled on the floor, his nose bleeding. Robin glared at everyone else, who were suddenly silent and amazed.

"Anyone else?" he said, opening his arms. He wasn't one to look for trouble, but he had let off some steam with the fight, and it had felt amazing.

"How about me?" a voice said from behind him.

He found himself suddenly wrapped in something black, and he couldn't move a muscle as he was lifted off of the ground. He struggled, grunting as he tried to free his body from it, before he was turned around. And older villain, one of the teachers, was creating some magic with her hands, encasing him in her power. She had long, white hair and her slim body was wrapped in red-and-black striped spandex. She looked around her forties, and very displeased.

"Let me go!" Robin protested.

She lowered him to the ground and, to his surprise, released him.

"I know you're new, so I'll explain this to you. We don't tolerate fighting inside the school unless it is Combat Training. It's the first day and you're already looking for trouble."

"Red Hornet." a voice said behind Robin, making him jump and whirl around as he recognised it. It was Slade! Where the hell had he come from? Robin had been facing the door and he hadn't seen any other doors in the big room! "I'll handle him. He's my apprentice."

She nodded.

"As you wish." she said. "All of you! Back to your breakfasts!"

Slade glared at Robin, who stood his ground despite the rousing fear he felt inside of him.

"He attacked me." he blurted out as Slade gave a step closer to him. "I had to defend my - "

"We'll talk about this in your training session this afternoon." the man growled. "Behave. It's the first day."

Robin sighed in both frustration and relief as the man walked past him and out of the enormous room. He glared at everyone else, including Seemore who was helping Billy to his feet, and made his way towards the food. After he had gotten his tray, he sat as far away from everyone else as possible.

As he ate, he decided to distract himself by looking at his schedule. He almost spat his food as he read it.

Certainly not what he had expected...

Criminal History, Hero Behaviour, Psychology of the masses, Gun management 1 and 2, Gun workshop, Ability control... even subjects such as Maths, English, Biology... It was so odd.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Criminal history was his first class.

The bell rang and Robin immediately grabbed his backpack and got up, making his way to his assigned classroom without looking at anyone.

Apart from almost getting himself into various fights with his peers for them trying to get under his skin, and getting into horrible word-fights with almost everyone that looked at him wrong, the classes were extremely dull. Most of them ended before time, since the teachers only introduced themselves and talked about what they would teach during the year.

Lunch hour came soon enough, and Robin was famished. However, before he could reach the cafeteria, making his way through the hoards of young villains, a heavy hand clamped itself on his shoulder. He suppressed a growl and turned around, facing Slade.

"Will you behave?" the man said, his eye narrowing.

"I will if they do." Robin answered.

Slade's hand clenched harder on his shoulder.

"I don't want any trouble from you. You're not their enemy anymore."

"Allow me to disagree, master." he said sarcastically. Slade growled and slammed him against a wall. The people walking by immediately stopped and looked at them.

"You're already in a lot of trouble for this morning. Don't pile more up." the man growled. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, master." Robin growled under his breath, knowing that it was better to say it than have Slade beat him in front of so many people.

Slade let go of him and walked away, and Robin glared daggers at all the young villains looking at him mockingly. They immediately scurried away, towards the cafeteria, and Robin went on his way as well. Anger filled him up entirely, threatening to make him burst. All those aspiring villains shouldn't be at school like normal teenager. Most of them had committed juvy-worthy crimes around the city. And the teachers should have been in rotting in jail! It unnerved him to see them getting paid to create even more villains! It was such a sick idea...

And Slade... he growled at the thought. The man truly made him feel rage beyond his understanding.

He walked in and piled food up on his tray, all the while growling and glaring at everyone who stood too close to him.

Unfortunately, not everyone was so easily intimidated.

As soon as he sat down, his tray got surrounded by something pink. He barely got out of the way as the pink energy flung it towards his face. It went above his shoulder though, and slammed against a giant boy's back. He was as big as Mammoth, but his skin was grey and raspy, undoubtedly made of stone or something similar, making him look even more threatening. He growled, his shoulders tensing as the tray stuck to his back from the gooey food, which squirted down his towards his pants. Robin, didn't notice him, though. He was too busy glaring at Jinx, who had hexed his tray to throw it towards his face.

The girl was laughing along with some of her friends, including Gizmo and Mammoth, before their eyes widened. Robin was confused, until a big shadow cast itself on him. He immediately whirled around, his body ready for a fight.

"You hit Stone boy." the guy said, his voice sounding dumb and thick. Robin almost laughed. "Now you pay."

"Listen, it wasn't me." Robin tried to reason as the guy walked closer to him, remembering Slade's words. "It was Jinx."

"Gonna blame it on a sweet little girl?" the pink-haired girl said, feigning innocence. "Not very 'boy wonder' of you!"

The chorus of laughter reignited Robin's rage. He turned around slightly, to glare at her, before he whirled around just in time to block Stoneboy's punch. Even with both his arms up, the blow hurt, and he grunted. He stole a glance at the teachers, who were too engrossed in their meals and conversation to notice that a fight was about to start. He cursed under his breath, before the rock hand clamped o the front of his suit, taking him by surprise, and raised him to be eye level with Stone boy.

"You, me, after school. We'll settle this." the guy growled, before letting go of him.

Robin landed gracefully on his feet, and was about to answer when a familiar voice spoke up behind him. He hadn't noticed that the students had grown abnormally quiet...

"He can't. He'll train with me." Slade said.

Robin turned around. How could Slade sneak up behind him so easily?! He was highly tuned to people's presences! He always knew when people came up behind him, except for Batman... and now apparently Slade as well. He growled mentally at the involuntary comparison.

"Sorry, Mr. Slade." Stoneboy said dumbly, walking back to his seat.

"You, come with me." Slade ordered Robin.

"I haven't eaten anything yet." Robin countered in a low voice, trying to restrain himself from lashing at the man and trying to hit him.

"How inconvenient." Slade said. He turned around and began walking away, and Robin just knew that he had to follow... But something stopped him. Everyone was looking at him, and he didn't want them to see him following Slade around like a lapdog.

Swallowing his fear, he growled and crossed his arms.

"I need to eat first." he said defiantly. "Then I'll come with you."

The room instantly became colder. Slade's whole body tensed, his fists clenching. His head turned slightly to the side.

"Excuse me, _apprentice_?"

"I said I'll eat first, _master._ " Robin spat back, his own fists clenching at his sides. He revealed in the gasps and wide eyes that surrounded them.

Slade turned around fully, and then, without warning and before anyone even anticipated it, he hurled himself at the young villain. Robin barely had time to put his arms up and block the man's punch. Slade acted too quickly for Robin, though, and grabbed one of his wrists, clenching hard enough to make the bones grind together. Robin winced and tried to pull it free, before Slade grabbed his chin with the other hand and forced him to look him in the eye.

"What have I told you about complete obedience?" he growled.

Robin's eyes narrowed. He had to play carefully. He knew that Slade was thinking the same thing as him: A room full of students and teachers looking, wondering which one of them would cave in first. Robin didn't want to follow Slade's order like a little slave and give all the students even more reasons to mess with him, but getting beaten by Slade in front of everyone was even worse. His eyes adverted momentarily to the students, who looked truly shocked at Robin's small act of defiance.

"Fine. Whatever." he growled. Slade growled, too, and slammed a fist against his stomach, taking him by surprise.

Robin cried out and wrapped his free arm around his torso, clenching his eyes shut. Snickers rose around the room.

"What did you say?"

"Master." Robin muttered between clenched teeth. Slade let go of him and walked away, and Robin tried to ignore the evil faces around him as he followed.

* * *

The day finally ended, and Robin found himself truly exhausted.

But he still had to train. With Slade.

He dragged his body towards the gym, which was empty by that time. Slade was already there, swinging his bo staff around.

The school's gym wasn't like a normal school gym... at all. A large shelf at the back held all kinds of long and close-range weapons, in huge numbers. It was like the basement of russian mafia's headquarters. All around, there were different objects that could be used to do an obstacle race, and a very dangerous one at that. There were also ropes on the ceiling, to train for rope climbing, and some carton figures stacked in the back for target practice. And so much more.

Slade turned to look at Robin and his eye instantly narrowed.

"You were disobedient today."

"I didn't start any of the fights." Robin answered. "They see me as their enemy, they want to attack me at all times. Am I supposed to just stand there and take it?" he said, enraged.

"You're supposed to obey my commands." Slade said. "I can't care less about your little fights. But what you pulled at the cafeteria? I won't stand for it, Robin."

"I hadn't eaten anything." Robin growled. "I haven't yet, since breakfast."

"Poor little boy." Slade said. "Get in position. We'll start training now, and I won't take it easy on you. You're in so much trouble."

Robin didn't answer. He dropped into a defensive position. Slade leapt at him.

Hours went by. The bell of dinner rang and Slade hadn't stopped.

It was around 9 p.m that Robin finally fell on his face and couldn't get up. He was exhausted. His whole body was hurting from Slade's fists and kicks, and all the times he had fallen to the floor. One of his eyes was already swelling shut and he hoped that it wasn't too noticeable through his mask. His nose and mouth were bleeding and his extremities felt like limp noodles. He literally couldn't move a muscle. Besides, he was horribly dizzy from skipping lunch, and Slade hadn't let him drink any water. The man had been truly enraged.

"Pathetic, Robin." he said, approaching the exhausted boy, who at that point couldn't do much more than breathe, and that was proving to be a little difficult. His chest was constricted from his body's exertion, and his throat was raw from gasping. "I expect better behaviour from you tomorrow. I hope you can find your way to the cafeteria, there must be some leftovers there."

Robin growled and took a moment before flexing his arms and putting his palms flat on the ground. With a cry of effort, he straightened up and sat on his heels. Sweat was pouring down his body, his hair clinging to his forehead and the suit completely drenched. His legs shook as he got on his feet, and he swayed as black spots danced in his vision. God, he was exhausted.

As he wadded and limped towards his room, deciding that he'd rather sleep than eat, he ran into Gizmo, who was getting out of the bathroom.

"You don't look so good, Boy Wonder." he said mockingly.

"Piss off, Gizmo. I'm not in the mood." he said tiredly.

"Got a lesson from good ol' Slade? He let you have it, I see."

Robin growled. "Fuck you."

"Whooooaaaaa... A bad word coming from our Bird boy's mouth! What would the Titans say about this?"

Robin truly wanted to punch his face, but he had no strength. He simply glared at him and got into his room, locking the door behind himself and plopping down on the bed.

It was going to be more difficult than he had thought...

* * *

I hope you liked it!

See you next time!


	2. Trust

FireStorm1991: Hi! This story is set in episodes Apprentice pt. 1 and Apprentice pt. 2. They're the last two episodes of the first season. Basically, the first season just sort of led Robin to become obsessed with Slade, who quickly becomes his archenemy. One day, the Titans are trying to find Slade and Robin is really frustrated and crazy (he absolutely hates Slade, as I'm sure you recall lol). Slade lured them into a trap, in which Robin gets separated from the Titans to find Slade and the Titans try to find some sort of machine that will stop time forever. The machine was a fake, but it was infected with some nanobots that go into their bloodstream, and which can kill them at the villain's whim, so Slade forces Robin to become his apprentice. Since he controls the nanobots, he can kill the Titans very painfully and slowly, so that's the deal: Robin becomes Slade's apprentice and he'll let the Titans live. I won't spoil it for you since you apparently want to re-watch the series (and you definitely should!), but that's basically what you need to know to understand this story.

* * *

To his surprise, nobody tried to attack him on his way to the bathroom the next morning. They all glared at him, sure, but at least they didn't insult him or try to hit him or something.

When he got to the cafeteria, though, everyone turned to look at him with mocking, surprised, and even pitying expressions. He glared at everyone, figuring that somebody had something planned to bully him, and made his way to the food. To his surprise, at the end of the line there were various newspapers stacked on a table, free for everyone to take. He didn't know the students at the HIVE were all that interested in day-to-day occurrences. He grabbed one uninterestedly and went over to a table far away from everyone.

He sat down, grabbed his fork, looked at the front page...

...and then he saw i _t._

 _"Teen Titans defeated by Control Freak."_

There was a picture of Control Freak laughing as he fired at a flying Starfire. He could see Beastboy's body on the floor and what looked like Cyborg's arm under his foot.

His body went cold, his heart stopping and his brain going fuzzy. He swallowed dryly and went on to read the rest of the article.

He sighed in relief as he read that they were alright, but rage still invaded him.

 _"The Teen Titans seem to be lost without their former leader, Robin. Control Freak defeated them in a short time. Fortunately for the city, the villain's weaponry had a 'glitch', and didn't work for two hours. During those two hours, the Titan identified as Raven was able to restrain him with her powers and send him to jail. What will happen now, if the Titans can't protect Jump City? The people can't keep hoping for glitches and mistakes every time. Is this the beginning of the end?"_

Robin growled and looked up. Everyone was staring at him.

And Slade was there.

The man was at the entrance, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his single eye fixed on the Titan. It took Robin a moment to notice that the cafeteria was completely silent. Slade's presence struck fear in everybody. But not in the young hero. At least... not at that very moment. All that Robin felt was rage. Rage invaded him as Slade pushed himself off the doorframe. Rage constricted his chest and throat as Slade walked closer to his table. Rage consumed him as the man stopped before him, his arms crossed.

"Slade..." he seethed.

"Got bad news before you even had breakfast, my young apprentice?"

"You... _bastard._ " He growled. Gasps arose in the wide room. "This is your fault!"

"My fault?" Slade said, his voice amused and mocking.

"If you hadn't brought me here - "

"If you want a not-so-humble opinion, Robin, if your team fails once you leave them, you weren't such a great leader." the man said smoothly. Snickers surrounded Robin, making him even angrier.

"We were a team." he growled. "And your stupid apprenticeship idea is ruining everything!"

"Oh, Robin, settle down. You're being so childish, throwing a tantrum because you can't go outside and play with your friends."

Something inside Robin snapped.

"You _fucking_ bastard!" he shouted. He leapt at the man, pulling out his bo staff, and swung it at the man's face. Slade stepped back, his eye widening for a second, before his arm shot out to block Robin's weapon. The boy swung again, crying out in pure anger, but Slade whirled out of the way and reached out to grab the boy's wrist. He pulled him close and heaved his knee up into his stomach. Robin uttered a horrible, strangled gasp as all the wind got knocked out of him. His eyes widened under his mask and when the knee receded, he crashed against the floor with his knees, his free hand reaching up to hold his aching stomach. He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain, and jumped again to his feet, aiming a kick at the man's face.

Slade, however, saw it coming and grabbed Robin's ankle, swinging him around and sending him flying across the room. The students that were in the way cried out and scrambled away as Robin flew towards them. He twisted around in the air and landed swiftly on one of the tables, knocking the food and dishes over.

Both fighters glared at each other. The room seemed to freeze.

And then they both leapt at their nemesis.

Slade also pulled his bo staff out and swung it around, almost hitting Robin in the face, but the boy moved out of the way and swung a punch towards Slade's mask, but the man blocked it. They grappled around for a while, everyone staring in awe as the boy wonder defied his terrible master.

Then, suddenly, Slade grabbed Robin's arm and twisted it around, making Robin cry out.

"I tire of this, Robin." he said. He pulled the boy closer by the arm, making him gasp in pain, and wrapped a large arm around his neck. "Will you calm down?"

"F-fuck you." Robin rasped. His arm was pulled, making the bones grind together, and the arm choked him even more. Robin let go of his staff and wrapped his hand around Slade's huge arm, trying to pry himself free.

"Calm down or I'll kill your friends." He whispered in Robin's ear. He felt the boy's body tensing and then, his hand slowly let go of Slade's arm. "There you go." the man said. He, however, wouldn't let Robin go unpunished, so he twisted his arm until a loud pop let him know that it was dislocated. Robin cried out before Slade threw him to the floor and stomped in his back, making him arch backwards with a cry. "I'm your master. Don't you ever forget that."

Robin was about to answer, but he feared that he'd infuriate Slade so much that he'd end up truly killing the Titans. He got up, in spite of the pain in his back and shoulder, and simply glared at him.

Slade glared back and simply walked away as everyone stared at Robin. The young hero wanted nothing more that to get out of that room, but he hadn't eaten anything yet and he was starving. He quietly picked his staff up, put it away, and sat down before his table, eating quietly. Nobody teased him or mocked him.

* * *

"Alright, class," the teacher said. "We'll start the term with a sort of unknown villain, who caused an impact in Jump City and although he isn't famous like the villains we'll study through the rest of the year... But Slade insisted, and I really liked him when he appeared."

Robin nearly jumped out of his seat as the video beam projected an image he knew all too well.

"Red X." The teacher said voicing his thoughts. "Who knows something about Red X?"

Someone lifted a hand.

"Yes, Black Claw?"

"He know martial arts. Fights hand to hand and - "

"- He's one of the few villains who could actually beat the Titans in, like, two minutes." the student next to Black Claw interrupted.

The teacher smiled.

"Well, I guess he isn't unknown, then." he pressed a button on the controller and the image switched to a collage of the moments Red X had beaten each Titan. "He's not your usual villain. He doesn't care for killing." the next one was a gif of Robin saving Beast Boy from the train tracks. "So, what would you guys say his motive is?"

"He steals." Jinx said. "He mostly wanted to steal big companies like Wayne Enterprises before he went down."

"And who would you say his fighting style resembles?"

"It's martial arts so maybe Ra's Al Ghul." A girl said next to Robin.

"I'd say it's actually like Slade himself." the teacher countered. Robin's heart skipped a beat.

"No way!" he said, outraged. Everyone turned to look at him, stunned.

"Really, now?" the teacher said. "Why would you say so, Robin?"

"Oh, he's just saying it because he hates Slade." Gizmo said, rolling his eyes.

"No, I'm not!" he countered. "His fighting style is nothing like Slade's!"

"I actually want to hear your side of the story, Robin. You didn't actually fight Red X. What happened?"

"I... I was trapped. He lured me into the dark and caught me with a net. There was nothing I could do." he said, realising he had slipped up big time.

"Well, I'm sure most of you have already heard in the news that he returned, although he seems a bit different. Some people say he is a different person altogether..." the teacher continued talking. Robin had read it in the news, so he just tuned her out, his hand reaching up to his aching shoulder. He had popped it back into place himself after he was done with breakfast, but it still hurt a lot.

The bell rang and Robin sighed. He went from class to class numbly, trying to ignore the stupid villains taunting him, trying to rile him up so that he'd get in trouble again. His mind was reeling with worry. Control Freak was a joke! He had always been... Sure, they were cautious around him, but he was a guy they always beat so easily... Why hadn't they been able to do it? Shades words began to sink in more and more as the day went on.

The bell rang, startling Robin who was practically falling asleep as the teacher rambled on about differentiation and integrals. He yawned and sighed as he looked at his next class: Combat Practice.

He cursed Slade again for giving him a bad shoulder, but he wasn't going to make any excuses not to participate. He swiftly made his way to the gym.

"Alright, class." the teacher, a tall, very bulky man, said. "We'll do one-on-ones. Number yourselves from one to two, and the ones will go to the right and the twos to the left."

Robin lined up on the left, feeling very annoyed as everyone lazily took their time to get in line. The class was truly dull. The students would fight hand-to-hand against each other for ten minutes before the teacher said it was over and proclaimed a winner. They couldn't use weapons or powers so the fight was actually pretty boring...

Finally, it was Robin's turn. He was paired up with a tall, lanky boy dressed in black spandex and a red cape. He looked smug and positively evil.

They entered the small make-shift arena.

"Robin and Red Curse." the teacher said. He looked at Robin with hatred and disgust, and a wicked smile crossed his face. "You can use your powers, but no weapons."

Everyone laughed and whooped.

"I have no powers." Robin growled, glaring at the giant villain.

"Well, too damn bad, isn't it? Begin!"

Before Robin could argue further, a red beam ran towards his face. He barely had time to dodge it and it crashed against the wall behind him, burning up the top layers of the plaster. Then another one came barreling at him and this time Robin jumped in the air, thrusting his body forward to reach his counterpart, but the other boy was fast as well and a barrage of red power balls ran to Robin. The young hero could feel the heat emanating from them and he grabbed a climbing rope that was close by, heaving his body upwards. The balls went over to the crowd watching them and the students cried out and scrambled away.

Robin landed on his feet, gracefully, and reached for his boomerangs, but the teacher stopped him.

"No weapons!"

The boy growled and glared at him, but knew that it was futile to argue, so he let go of his belt and ran to the sorcerer who was still throwing power balls at him. The young villain's eyes widened, though, as Robin dodged all of them and reached him, sinking a fist into his stomach with a cry of rage. The black-and-red clad boy cried out in pain, but Robin gave him no rest. He knew it was very dangerous to stay within arm's reach of a magical being, as their powers were much more dangerous up close, so he needed to stun the boy enough so that he'd pass out or be too confused to use his powers against Robin, at least until the ten minutes were up, so he kept on pummelling the boy's face and torso.

But Red Curse was smarter than that, and he grabbed Robin's wrists with his own. He smiled and began muttering a series of weird, otherworldly words.

 _"Saa'kh sa khan kha saa-thy kha sakh saa'kh..."_ Soon, his hands began to glow red, and Robin could feel them heating up very dangerously.

And then the pain began. The guy was burning him with his hands!

Robin bit his lip to avoid crying out and kicked his legs up in the air, hitting the boy square in the jaw. The burning sensation receded a bit, but when smoking skin reached his nostrils and the pain got unbearable, Robin began to try to tug his hands free. His previously dislocated shoulder screamed with pain and he growled, once again kicking the other boy. He kicked him over and over, withincreasing strength, and soon Red Curse cried out as he let go of one of Robin's hands from the impact of his kicks. Robin pulled is newly freed arm back to strike the sorcerer, but the villain reacted faster.

A red beam escaped his hand and Robin jumped to the side to avoid it, but one of his wrists was still trapped within the man's grip, so the beam still struck him in the side of his torso, tearing away part of his uniform and a few layers of skin and flesh. Robin cried out and, without thinking, hit the boy with all his strength in the face. Red Curse's head snapped backwards and blood flew from his nose. Taking advantage of the distraction, Robin grabbed the villain's wrist and used all of his upper-body strength to lift the villain up into the air and hurl him against a wall. Extremely hard.

There was a crack and Red Curse fell to the ground, letting go of Robin's wrist. The young hero looked down. His wrists were bloodied and blistered, one more than the other, and burnt like hell, but he could stand it for the time being. The gash on the side of his torso, though, looked like it needed stitches. He looked down at the villain who was groaning and holding his bleeding head in his hands. Then he looked towards the students and the teacher, who looked truly stunned and amazed.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Red Curse didn't seem all that powerful or dangerous...

"Come on, Red! Get up!" a girl cheered.

"Beat his ass!"

"Red Curse, there are still three minutes left!" the teacher encouraged. "Get up!"

Robin got into a defensive stance as Red Curse got on his feet, glaring at him. He lifted his hands, which were glowing... but then his legs simply buckled under him and he fell on the floor, unconscious.

Robin sighed slightly in relief and walked away. He looked pointedly at the teacher.

"You might want to take him to the sickbay or something. He might have a concussion."

Just then, the bell rang.

* * *

Starfire was sitting crosslegged on top of the Titans Tower, looking over at the city lights. Her beautiful face looked extremely saddened and depressed, her green eyes lost in her thoughts.

She was startled as someone spoke behind her.

"Hey, Star." Beast Boy said. He had a plate with two pieces of pizza on it. "You didn't join us for dinner so I thought you might be hungry."

Starfire smiled slightly.

"I am not, friend Beast Boy, but I much appreciate your concern." she said softly.

"Come on, Star..." the young boy said, sitting next to her. "It's got onion, mustard, garlic, jam, peanut butter, strawberries - "

"I am really not feeling the hunger." she said.

"Star, what's up? You had never been so sad after we were beaten by someone." Beast boy said. "And he lost, anyway. He's in jail now."

"Our failure reminds me of the absence of our friend Robin." she said.

Beast boy sighed and his ears lowered, his face turning sorrowful as well.

"Yeah, I miss him, too." he said. Then he attempted to smile, trying to cheer his friend up. "But hey, we'll be alright. We're still the Titans!"

"We are not the Titans without Robin." she said, hugging her knees.

Beast boy didn't know what to say. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, before Raven joined them. She sat next to Beast boy and smiled slightly at Starfire.

"Are you... okay?" Raven asked awkwardly. She hated emotional conversations, and felt really uncomfortable when people talked to her about their feelings, but she could see and sense that her friends were extremely depressed. Especially Starfire. She was usually very cheery and positive, and it was her merry-go-lucky attitude that kept the group together and happy... but now she was really sad all the time.

Raven couldn't blame her. They all missed Robin achingly, and knowing that he had gone to the dark side had been a really painful blow for all of them... but for Starfire it had been really, really bad. It had really torn her apart. Everyone knew that Robin and Starfire loved each other, as more than friends even, and they had started to fall for each other since the moment they had met (even if they didn't know it themselves). Even after the Red X incident, and every time Robin took himself too seriously and went a little too far, Starfire was there for him, cheering him up, having faith in him, loving him...

...And then Robin had betrayed them.

"Yes, friend Raven." Starfire said. "I am just... tired."

"Look, Starfire," Raven began, "we all miss him... but you can't dwell on it forever. He's gone."

"He is not gone!" Starfire said, her voice thick with sadness. A small sob escaped her and she crossed her arms. "He would not leave us like this. There has to be something we are not seeing."

"Maybe there is." Raven agreed. "But for now, there's little we can do."

"Can you not attempt the mind-reading on Robin's brain?" Starfire asked.

"No." Raven sighed. "I've tried. For the past three months I've tried, Starfire, but Robin's mind is really guarded. It's weird, it's like he's been trained to withstand people reading his mind... I don't know, maybe Batman trained him or something. If I tried any harder, I might cause him brain damage or something worse."

"Dude..." Beast boy muttered.

"But, there has to be something we can do. Robin would never leave us behind if it were us in that situation!" Starfire argued.

"Starfire..." Raven sighed. "Have you ever considered that maybe Robin went to Slade willingly? I mean, after Red X - "

"Red X was just - "

"A ruse to catch Slade, I know. But... I mean, he was really obsessed with him." Raven continued.

"No!" Starfire said passionately, her eyes glistening a light green. "I refuse to believe that Robin would go to the side that is dark!"

"I'm not saying he did, I'm just saying that maybe - "

"Do you not trust Robin after everything we have been through?!" Starfire yelled, getting up onto her feet, her fists surrounded by her green energy.

Raven leapt to her feet as well, her hands surrounded by blackness.

"It's not that I don't trust him! We've had this conversation a million times already!" Raven cried out.

"Uh... dudettes..." Beast boy said, trying to calm them down.

"Then why do you insist on saying that he is with Slade with willingness?"

"I'm just saying it's a possibility!"

"Rae... Star..." Beast boy said, his eyes wide as their energies around their hands grew in intensity. "Just cool down..."

"Well, I will not accept that possibility! Robin is our dear friend and leader!"

"But what if he isn't anymore?!"

"SHUT UP!" Beast boy said, finally. The girls looked at him, enraged. His ears lowered and he laughed nervously. "Uh... I, uhm, I just wanted to say that maybe he is, maybe he isn't, but we won't find out unless we do something."

"We've been saying we'll do something for the past three months." Cyborg said behind them, startling the three of them. They turned to look at him. "How about we actually come up with a plan and find out once and for all what's going on in Robin's head."

The three Titans smiled at him.

* * *

Hope you liked it!


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